Harvard University’s Sanders Theatre managed the 2011 Ig Nobel Award
ceremony Thurs. Winners of the yearly award for unlikely scientific
research went to such improbable studies as why a particular beetle
mates with a particular type of beer bottle and why discus throwers get
light headed from spinning around. Resource for this article: Ig Nobel Awards honor the wackiest scientific studies of the year
Reason for the awards
The
Ig Nobel awards have been taking place for 21 years in order to make
fun of the Nobel Award. The award recognizes improbable or trivial
achievements in science. The stated reason of the awards is to “first
make people laugh, and then make them think.” There is a sponsor for
this. It is the journal Annals of Improbably Research.
There are
hats, paper planes, kids and much more during this event. This is a
prize people aspire to win. It is something that the scientific
community looks at in a good light now. Seven of this year’s champions
traveled to Harvard for last night’s service at their own expense.
The 2011 award winners
This
year, the physiology prize went to Anna Wilkinson of the University of
Lincoln for a research paper entitled “No Evidence of Contagious Yawning
in the Red-Footed Tortoise.”
A team from Shiga University in
Japan won the chemistry award. This was done by creating a fire alarm
system that wakes people up by throwing wasabi horse radish at them in
perfect amounts.
The medicine award was shared by two teams, one
European and one American, for determining that the urge to urinate
causes us to make better decisions about some things and worse decisions
about others.
Research was done by Karl Halvor Teigen of the University of Oslo as to why humans sigh, which got him the psychology award.
The
literature prize was given to John Perry of Stanford University. He
wrote “The Theory of Structured Procrastination,” which talks all about
putting things off and getting things done at the same time.
Since
Darryl Gwynne and David Rentz studied how beetles really like to mate
with a bumpy Australian beer container, they received the biology award.
The reason discus throwers get light headed was discussed by Philippe Perrin, which got him the physics award.
The
peace award went to the mayor of Vilnius, Lithuania, Arturas Zuokas,
for determining that the problem of illegally parked vehicles could be
solved by flattening them with an armored tank.
John Senders of
the University of Toronto won the public safety prize for his research
on the hazards of maneuvering on a significant highway while the sun
visor repeatedly flaps in the driver’s face.
The prize for
mathematics was shared. Anyone from Pat Robertson to Elizabeth Clare was
given it. The judges say that these individuals proved individuals need
to be more watchful with mathematical calculations since they all
falsely predicted the end of the world.
The conclusion
The
service concluded with Marc Abrahams, editor of the Annals of
Improbable Research, saying: “If you didn’t win an Ig Nobel prize
tonight — and especially if you did — better luck next year.”
There will be a real Nobel Prize service fairly soon. It will be held in Sweden.
Information from
Huffington Post: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/09/29/ig-nobel-award-winners-do_n_987797.html
Improbable.com: http://improbable.com/ig/winners/
BBC: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-15117051
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